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POST-REVOLUTION AMERICA

In 1794 Settlers west of the Alleghenies, in opposition to Alexander Hamilton's excise tax of 1791, started what is now known as the "Whiskey Rebellion" The excise tax was considered discriminatory and the settlers rioted against the tax collectors . President Washington eventually sent troops to quell the riots. Although two settlers were eventually convicted of treason, the President granted each a pardon.

In 1798 Congress enacted the Federal Property Tax to pay for the expansion of the Army and Navy in the event of possible war with France.  In the same year, John Fries began what is referred to as the "Fries Rebellion," in opposition to the new tax.  No one was injured or killed in the insurrection and Fries was arrested for treason but eventually pardoned by President Adams in 1800.   Surprisingly, Fries was the leader of a militia unit called out to suppress the "Whiskey Rebellion."²

The first income tax suggested in the United States was during the War of 1812. The tax was based on the British Tax Act of 1798 and applied progressive rates to income. The rates were .08% on income above £60 and 10 percent on income above £200. The tax was developed in 1814 but was never imposed because the treaty of Ghent was signed in 1815 ending hostilities and the need for additional revenue.

The Tax Act of 1861 proposed that "there shall be levied, collected, and paid, upon annual income of every person residing in the U.S. whether derived from any kind of property, or from any professional trade, employment, or vocation carried on in the United States or elsewhere, or from any source whatever.

The 1861 Tax Act was passed but never put in force. Rates under the Act were 3% on income above $800 and 5% on income of individuals living outside the U.S.

The Tax Act of 1862 was passed and signed by President Lincoln July 1 1862. The rates were 3% on income above $600 and 5% on income above $10,000. The rent or rental value of your home could be deducted from income in determining the tax liability. The Commissioner of Revenue stated "The people of this country have accepted it with cheerfulness, to meet a temporary exigency, and it has excited no serious complaint in its administration." This acceptance was primarily due to the need for revenue to finance the Civil War.

Although the people cheerfully accepted the tax, compliance was not high. Figures released after the Civil War indicated that 276,661 people actually filed tax returns in 1870 (the year of the highest returns filed) when the country's population was approximately 38 million.

The Tax Act of 1864 was passed to raise additional revenue to support the Civil War.

Senator Garret Davis, in discussing the guiding principle of taxation, stated "a recognition of the idea that taxes shall be paid according to the abilities of a person to pay."

Taxes rates for the Tax Act of 1864 were 5% for income between $600 and $5000; 7.5% for income between $5001 and $10,000; 10% on income above $10,000. The deduction for rent or rental value was limited to $200. A deduction for repairs was allowed.

With the end of the Civil War the public's accepted cheerfulness with regard to taxation waned. The Tax Act of 1864 was modified after the war. The rates were changed to a flat 5 percent with the exemption amount raised to $1,000. Several attempts to make the tax permanent were tried but by 1869 " no businessman could pass the day without suffering from those burdens" The Times. From 1870 to 1872 the rate was a flat 2.5 percent and the exemption amount was raised to $2,000.

The tax was repealed in 1872 and in its place was installed significant tariff restrictions that served as the major revenue source for the United States until 1913. In 1913 the 16th Amendment was passed, which allowed Congress authority to tax the citizenry on income from whatever source derived.

It should be noted that the Tax Act of 1864 was challenged several times. The Supreme Court unanimously supported the tax. After the war the tax was declared unconstitutional by the same court because it represented direct taxation on the citizenry which was not allowed under the constitution.

1930's

During the 1930's federal individual income taxes were never more than 1.4 percent of GNP. Corporate taxes were never more than 1.6 percent of GNP. In 1990 those same taxes as a percent of GNP were 8.77 and 1.99 respectively.³

 

Our current Florida Constitution is actually our state's sixth constitution. It was adopted in 1968 and replaced the 1885 version. Florida's five previous constitutions reflected the times in which their drafters lived, 1838, 1861, 1865, 1868, and 1885. Much of their work is still in place in the 1968 Constitution in such areas as the elected cabinet system. Let's take a look at Florida's six constitutions.

1838 - Florida's first Constitution was written at a convention in St. Joseph. Fifty-six delegates drafted the Constitution in seeking statehood for Florida which was granted on March 3, 1845.

Highlights: Established a government with a one-term governor, bi-cameral legislature, and departmental administrators selected by the legislature and eligible for re-election. Bankers and clergymen were banned from being elected as governors or legislators. The 1838 Florida Constitution strongly affirmed the system of slavery, prohibiting any legislation to emancipate slaves but authorizing legislation to prevent free blacks from entering Florida.

1861 - Florida's second constitution drafters adopted an ordinance of secession and tied Florida to the "Confederate States of America" as opposed to the United States. The convention met in Tallahassee. This constitution was not submitted to the electorate for ratification since the law governing the convention gave it the power to make the necessary changes.

1865 - The third Florida Constitution was devised by a convention to annul the ordinance of secession. Adopted shortly after the Civil War, it never became law because Florida came under post-Civil War military jurisdiction. Although it acknowledged the abolition of slavery, it restricted jury service and even witness testimony to whites only (unless the victim was black) and denied newly-freed blacks (as well as women) the right to vote.

1868 - Florida's fourth constitution reflected the turbulent times of post-Civil War Reconstruction and military occupation. Referred to as the "Carpetbag" Constitution, it centralized authority in the governor, providing that county officials would be appointed by him, not elected locally. The 1868 Constitution also required a system of public schools, a state prison, and other institutions, required taxes to be uniform, and protected the homestead of a debtor from forced sale. It extended voting and other rights to all males, and allocated a seat in the State Senate and House to Seminole Indians.

1885 - The framers of the fifth constitution sought to weaken executive authority and impose checks on what they considered the abuses of Reconstruction governments. They established an elected cabinet and elected government officials, along with reducing elected state officials' salaries and limiting the governor to one term. It authorized a poll tax (which lasted until 1937) that served to deny poor blacks and whites the right to vote.

The 1885 Florida Constitution was Florida's longest-lived and most amended constitution. There were 212 amendments proposed and 149 adopted by the voters in those years.

1968 - By the 1960's, there were dozens of amendments proposed in each session of the legislature. Florida's current constitution was adopted in 1968 and replaced the 1885 version. In 1880, Florida was a frontier society of 269,000 people. By 1970, Florida had grown into a modern, urbanized, rapidly expanding state of 6,789,000 in 1970.